Hi,
my best friend is purchasing his very first car, the Mazda6 within the next 2 months or so and since he doesn't know all that much about how to get a good deal with the dealers, he wanted me to help him out a bit. Personally, I'm no expert but I would definitely like to become one so I would like to get some tips from you experience folks out there:

1) In terms of dealing, is it possible (or wise) to negotiate the interest rate on Leasing/financing ?? or do you just deal for the best final price with all the charges included then let them tag on the lease/Finance terms ?

2) How did some of you guys made them throw in the Extended warranty, Rusty Proofing Package, at low cost and have them throw away the Dealer Admin Fees ?

3) Does anyone knows how I can get the invoice prices for the cars over here in Canada ? I know in the US, you guys have Edmunds.

Thanks a lot guys. Anyhelp will be greatly appreciated.

Get the pricing from the apa you should be able to get out the door pricing from them with your options which will help you negotiate.

Do your homework.

Know the selling price of the car first, what the TMV is and such; these numbers GENERALLY vary but it gives you a rough estimate.

Get finance numbers before you even decide on the dealer to buy from. You can go online to BankFirst.com, or your local bank. BankFirst is great in a way that they send you a check made out for the amount of the car, and you literally walk off the lot with the car being fully paid. Then after that you finance thru them.

Those extra warranties, dealer rusting things, these are all gimmicks. You can buy an extended warranty thru other 3rd party vendors that offer better coverage for less, rust proofing is pointless as the car is not supposed to rust for 10 years as part of warranty. And things like window etching you might want to check with your insurance company; sometimes they give you a break on the insurance. Generally though, all the 'addons' are not worth it.

And lastly... go to a few different dealers. Let them give you the prices and just write them down. Have them write the prices on their cards, with THEIR OWN hands. Then when you come back to negotiate you will have the cards of 3 or 4 dealers with prices on the back. Then you can play one dealer against another to work the price down, then work out your financing.

Most times the financing is so-so going through the automaker. Keep in mind that Mazda's biggest business is *NOT* selling cars, nor is ANY automaker out there -- it's all the financing that goes with selling cars. The actual selling of the car is not important.

And lastly, be prepared to leave. Some dealers think they can get money off you because of the way you act, or look, or dress. Preconcieved notions. And it's always a good sign if when you walk in, they ask if they can help you right away. I have been to dealers where I stood around for 20 minutes for somebody to help me; needless to say what do you think would happen AFTER i bought the car?!?

Anyhoo hope I helped. I am in the process of getting my first car on my own (the RX-8) and I did my homework a while ago. I am just now passing it along to you :)

Originally posted by Hercules

Anyhoo hope I helped. I am in the process of getting my first car on my own (the RX-8) and I did my homework a while ago. I am just now passing it along to you :)

Hercules,
Thanks a lot for your help. The information you gave me were definitely helpful. I'm in the same boat as you are, buying the RX-8 as my first car so need all the advice and suggestions I can get.

Let me also share some of thoughts that I have collected over the last few months with you as well. Hopefully we'll both get good deals on our 8's !

-Always Negotiate the FINAL out the door price. If you do want any of the dealers Add-on stuff, negotiate that on the table with the sales person before you get into the room with the Manager.

-In cases the sales are unwilling to get to go a penny lower, ask them to throw in their add-ons since it Cost them nearly nothing.

-Use things like the the Dealer Hold back incentive to convince them to lower the price a little to your likings.

-Go to dealerships near the end of the month, end of the week, end of a Weekday.

That's about all the points that are not aleady covered. Good luck and thanks.